Face to face with Fidel Castro
Interview with Tomás Borge
Ocean Press, 181pp. $19.95
Reviewed by Sean Malloy
Why do so many people interview Fidel Castro? Beatriz Pagés, Gianni Min, Frei Betto, Tomás Borge, Maria Shriver... the list goes on, but why? Perhaps it's because Castro has such an extraordinary history. He has survived guerilla warfare under adverse conditions, survived capture and imprisonment under the pro-US Batista regime, survived numerous assassination attempts by the CIA and has lead a revolutionary government for more than three decades.
This interview was conducted by FSLN leader Tomás Borge in 1992 and was originally titled (in Spanish) A Kernel of Corn, which considering the content of the book is more apt, even in English.
The Spanish title stems from a quote from José Martí, which Castro refers to, that says "All the glory in the world fits in a kernel of corn". This theme is taken up at the beginning of the book and the end.
Tomás Borge is an inspirational character himself. The book points out that, "He is the only surviving founder of the Sandinista National Liberation Front (FSLN) of Nicaragua". Borge was an activist in the student movement in Nicaragua. He was a central leader of the FSLN in its struggle against the brutal Somoza dictatorship. Borge was captured by the regime, imprisoned for nine months and tortured during that time. He was only released due to a daring seizure of the National Palace by his FSLN comrades in August 1978.
Borge is also poet and writer, and it shows in his beautifully written introductions, which are full of thoughtful imagery. The combination of Borge and Castro in an interview and discussion format makes for absorbing reading.
Borge's questions cover a range of contemporary topics, including history, human rights and neo-liberalism. The type of questions asked and Borge's follow up comments are in no way "Dorothy Dicks" questions. "I was convinced that I should ask the Cuban leader questions that had occurred to me and that other political leaders had asked me or that I had heard from those who live in back alleys", writes Borge in the introduction.
While some of the topics explored seem to be cut short the overall discussion is stimulating. Face to Face with Fidel Castro, is a book to ponder on, containing a few gems of thought which are lasting while discussing historical subjects that are perhaps moving on faster than we notice. "We know that stars, like human beings, are born, live and die" says Castro. "When the light of our sun is extinguished, that will be the end of history, too." He adds further that objective history "lives and dies and will never have any witnesses other than humans themselves".